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[King of Paradise]

@Bio: And you're a whore. Then again, for a guy, that's probably a compliment, but still, your status remains, you whore.

~

MGS4...Is so much damn fun...But that's the PROBLEM.

You see, the thing I figure about previous MGS installments is that the tough control scheme and nuisance camera angles were implemented to discourage non-stealth gameplay. And it worked...For me, at least. I played through MGS1-3 trying to be as stealthy as possible, avoiding firefights at all costs because they were more of a pain than enjoyment...But MGS4...It decided to eliminate ALL of that!

An optimal control scheme with optimal camera control, the ability to crouch, ration revivements...All these factors make MGS4 insanely fun as an action game...But elements of a stealth game...That has all but disappeared for me. I mean, why would I want to go hide from an enemy who has spotted me when fighting him and the reinforcements he or someone else calls in is just so much more fun...And it's because of that that MGS4 fails me as MGS game...Gameplay wise, that is...

But, even though I said "all but disappeared", that's not to say there isn't some stealth play going on...It's just not as integral to the experience as it used to be...

But, if I ignore the fact that it is a MGS game, and just play it for what it is, it IS incredibly fun to play.

...

Umm, I'll get to discussing the other aspects of the game later.  

[Biohazard EXTREME]

Are you at Act 3 yet? Cause that one's pretty stealthy, even if short.  

[Biohazard EXTREME]

Yeah, I usually play it stealthy to an extent, but still, I can't resist but partake in the PMC warfare. So I usually help the locals out.  

[King of Paradise]

Further thoughts on MGS4, two acts completed...

Graphics:

How are the graphics better than FFXIII's when that game out almost two years after the fact? One word: Phenomenal.

Characters:

Solid Snake still kicks a**, even as an old man. And he's only partly a tool this time (Like in MGS2), whereas he was a complete tool in MGS1, just like Big Boss in MGS3.

Dunno why, but I like Otacon more this time around. Maybe it's because he got his groove on with Naomi (That's my boy!). Or maybe it's because he has a fatherly side showing what with Sunny being around. Speaking of which...

Sunny is just the cutest scamp ever. I really like her.

And Naomi...Cool to see her return...As well as Meryl. I liked both of them in MGS1, so, yeah. Cool to see them return.

And Meryl's merry crew is a hoot, 'specially Akiba. He pooped his pants in the heat of battle lol.

Roy is Roy, Rose is Rose, but Jack...Or should I say Raiden? Well, whatever the name, he is much more ninja this time around. I'm not going to say badas*, because in all honesty, his transition from MGS2 to MGS4 is ridiculous...In a bad way. I mean, if Raiden is now a kicker of all unholy a** ninja, then Solid Snake should at least be a Demigod by now...

Fang is still a gay vampire Jesus, and that's all I'll say about him.

Liquid Ocelot. Is any part of his psyche still truly Ocelot, because if not, that sort of sucks...

That at last brings me to Drebin...And his little monkey sidekick. Simply, I love 'em both. And I'll simply leave it that, lest I be judged harshly for any reason.

Story:

Along the lines of MGS1. Confusing, but not as confusing as MGS2's. Powerful, emotional, and with astonishing cinematics, even more effectively told than MGS1's story. But like MGS1, I don't think it can hold a candle to MGS3's story and presentation, because that game didn't have the convoluted plot to sometimes take you out of the experience.

~

There's some more small tidbits I want to touch on later, so I'll get to that...Later.  

[Biohazard EXTREME]

You know what pissed me off most of all? Ever since MGS2 came out, all the critics and 'journalists' have been saying, "Raiden's a p***y. Raiden sucks. Raiden's gay." Etc. etc. etc. As soon as the MGS4 trailer came out that showed Raiden fighting the Gekkos and Vamp, suddenly everyone was like, "I hope Raiden is playable!"
Hypocrites.  

[Elliot Salem]

Do be honest, i didn't mind Raiden. Aside from looking gay, ya know, I kinda liked his character.  

[Biohazard EXTREME]

Well, the biggest problem with Raiden is that he had to follow Solid Snake's shoes. That's damn near impossible. Let alone for someone who's SUPPOSED to appeal to middle school girls, which basically means, looking less masculine than a Final Fantasy hero. That, and having that melodrama with Rose didn't help.  

[King of Paradise]

Act 3 was nice and stealthy, but it also showed off how the stealth mechanics are very broken this time around. I mean, c'mon. Are you really going to try and tell me that it was "just your imagination" when I was clearly a guy walking a few feet behind you?

Umm, anyways. Big Mama had a lot to say, and I like what she had to say, because it cleared a lot up for me.

MGS4's bike scene left MGS3's bike scene behind in the dirt.

The Raging Raven boss battle was a lot like Laughing Octopus': Easy, and left a lot to be yearned. I mean, even though each of the battles were somewhat unique, I felt like they were a been there, done that type of situations.

~

Although I mentioned it before, it's about f***ing time they incorporated a crouching walk option. Jesus.

Too many excess guns of the same type this time around.

Although I really love Drebin's character, his shop is nothing compared to The Merchant's.

...

Meh. Little nitpicks are pointless compared to the grand scheme of things, so enough of that. I guess that's all for now.  

[Biohazard EXTREME]

The mechanics aren't broken, they're just more lenient. Broken is when something doesn't work the way the developers intended it to, and I'm pretty sure that Kojima's QA team is a lot more thorough than that of, say, Midway.

One one thing that made MGS3's bike scene better is that you don't have to actually "Aim" to shoot in MGS3. Which means, you can still shoot your enemies AND have the camera be independent and badass dynamic. Whereas in MGS4, you have to do the shoulder aim in order to actually fire your weapon, which means missing out on cool camera angles.  

[King of Paradise]

You're right, it's not broken. But saying it is "more leniant" is like trying to sugar coat the fact that it is poorly programmed. Intentional or not, it's rather embarassing for such a high tier game to have any mistakes, let alone a stealth game that occasionaly fails hard at the stealth aspect. It might be understandable if I was playing on, like, baby easy or something, but I'm playing the game on the second hardest available setting.

You're right again. MGS3's bike scene's perspective was more epic. But I prefer the switching perspectives of MGS4's bike scene, because it make it that much more intense. For me, at least.  

[Biohazard EXTREME]

Okay, but we're talking about a mission where you're following what's essentially a good guy. If they were as strict with the stealth as in, say, MGS3, then he'd spot you right away, and fire at you, and you'd be forced to either run away from him, or knock him out, or kill him. And after a while, it would probably get very, very frustrating. The whole point of the game is to have fun.
This was one of the problems I've had with MGS3, while I think the healing aspects of it were cool, to have to constantly go into the menu and apply all those healing items, yes, it pushed the game toward more hardcore realism, but at the same time, it made it less fun.

And yes, MGS4, is far less "Stealth" oriented than MGS3, or even the previous MG games. It's a completely different beast. And you don't have to like it, but to say that they "failed" is simply an inaccurate statement.  

[King of Paradise]

The end of Third Sun was amazing.

~

All I'm saying is that the guy I was following should have definitely fully noticed me, and not have thought it was just his imagination. Sure, I don't want games to get frustrating, but I also don't want them to occasionaly fail for the sake of fun (I welcome the challenge of tailing a guy without a gun). And since he didn't fully notice me, I think it safe to say that the game occasionaly fails, in the sense of realistic assessment, is an accurate statement.  

[Biohazard EXTREME]

Well, if it kept me from re-finding that resistance member 20 times over, then I'm thankful for it.  

[King of Paradise]

In other news...

...

So, you said that you would be able to finally get to the guild stuff this week. Is that still the situation, or has the situation changed, again?...Or more like, again again again again again? Haha.